Cigar-lighter.



J. L. HERZOG.

GIGAB. LIGHTER.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 14, 1912.

Patented Aug. 6, 1912 ATTORNEY JOSEPH' Ii. HERZOG, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

, CIGAR-LIGHTEB.

igoeaciv.

Specication of Letters Patent.

ratenteoiag. e, wie.

Application led March 14', 1912. Serial No. 683,801.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH L. HERZOG, a

I citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county of New York and State of New York, have made and invented certainnew and'useful Improvements in Cigar-Lighters,

of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to cigar lighters degenerated by movement-.of a spark-producing substance, such for example as an alloy containing a metal or metals of the cerium group with a sub-oxid or nit-rid of said metals, or an alloy of cerium and iron, in contact with an abrasive member, the cigar orl cigarette being lighted from the iame thus lproduced at the wick, the object thereinthe of being to provide a lighter in which the flame will be protected so thatit will not be blown out by comparatively slight air current-s as is commonly the case in lighters of the type above referred to; to provide a lighter which may be readily and vcheaply manufactured, and simple in construction so that itwillA not be likely to get out of order or fail to operate, and one that is compact and of such shape that it may be readily carried in the vestpocket, and to provide such other improvements in and relating to lighters o the type above referred to as are hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherepreferred embodimentiof my invention is illustrated. i

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a view showing my improved cigar lighter inits closed adjustment in side elevation, with portions of the external casing thereof broken away to show the interior construction.; Fig. 2 is av-iew showing a section of the principal parts thereof taken upon a vertical central plane, and in itsopen adjustment; Fig. 3 is a view showing the upper end of my evice in side-elevat'on as seen from a osition to the right of ig. 2, the same being closed; Fig. 4 is a similarl view showing the parts in the Vopenposition assumed when the lighter is -tol be used; Fig. 5 is a view showingasection taken upon a transverse plane indicated b the line 5--5, Fig. 2; Fi 6 is a view ta en upon a central vertical p ane. and

'i lshowing the upper-fend ot my'device, en-

larged; Fig. 7 is a view showing a section taken upon a transverse plane indicated by the line 7 7, Fig.p6; Fig. 8' is a-view showing a somewhat enlarged section taken upon a transverse plane indicated by the line 8-8, Fig. 1; Fig. 9 is a view principally in section of the ,lower end ofthe lighter illustrating the inverted position assumed by the parts when the supply of burning fluid is to be replenished; and, Fig. 10 is a view showing a reciprocating member forming a part of my device isolated, and in side elevation.

' My improved cigar lighter comprises an externalcasing 10 Withinwhich is located a reciprocating ,member whichV carries and supports various of the elements upon which the operat-ion of my device depends, said reciprocating member ,being shown separately in Fig. 10- and designated as a Whole by the reference character 11'. A I

liquid reservoir 12. is formed in Vthe lower portion 'of said reciprocating member, ,and within which a wick 13 is located, extending through the upper wall of the 'reservoir at 14 so that it may be lighted, although it will be obvious that other forms of absorbentmember kept moistby the iuid within the reservoir and extending without the same may be used; iti being understoodthat the tiuid contained in the reservoir and which supplies the wick will be one. which may be easily ignited to produce a liame at the outer end thereof, amongr which fluids alcohol, benzin, gasolene, etc., may be mentioned.'

The lower-end of the external casing 10N- is provided with an opening 15, and the lower end of the reservoir 12 with a filling opening 16,.normally closed yby a screw plug 17, so that whenx the reciprocating member 11 is depressed within the casing thefillin opening will be brought into a position a jacent the opening 15 whereupon the plug 17 may be readily removed, as illustrated .in Fig. 9, the lighter being held with its lower endupward at such timesas will be understood.

A s ring 18 is. located within the lower end o the external cas' 10 and acts u on the lower end of the reciprocating mem. er aforesaid, the tendency of said spring being to force said member upward within the casing.

The upper end ofthe reciprocating member 11 extends beyond the upper end-ofthe external. casing 10 and carries a cap-piece iio 19 which may be engaged by the nger to depress the reciprocatm member, which cap-piece includes a proJecting portion 2O which slides in. a recess or cut-out portion 21 formed in the wall of the external casing, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, so that when Jthe reciprocating member is depressed, the projecting portion aforesaid forms a continuation of the external surface of thecasing l1 and provides a lighter having a smooth outer surface. v

From the foregoing it will be understood that by such a construction and arrangement of the several parts the projecting portion 20 extending flush or below the outer surface of "the external casing avoids all danger` of thev lighter being accidentally opened while in the pocket of the wearer, which isalways liable to occur when such projecting portion extends out beyond the outer surface of the casing, as is commonly the case in the ordinary form of lighters.

The cut-out portion 21 above referred to provides an opening giving access to the flame, the upper end of the wick and the flame being adjacent the said opening when the reciprocating member is 1n its upper position and read for use as hereinafter explained, and as illustrated in Fig. 4.

The cap-piece 19 is shown as provided with a springressed latch member 22 the free lower en of which enters a hole 23 formed in the casing 10 when the reciprocating member 11 is in its lowermost position', as shown in Fig. 6, at which time the opening 21 is closed and the lighter is in condition to be carried in the pocket. When, however, the freeend of the latch member is forced out of the hole 23, which may be done by the thumb-nail as will be understood from Fig. 3, the spring 18 will force the reciprocating member 11 upward, the wick 13 will be' lighted as next explamed, and the opening 21 uncovered so that a cigar may be lightedfrom the flame. The latch member 22 engages a suitable stop at the end of the upward movement of the reclprocating member so as to limit the upward movement thereof, which stop is shown as in the form of a ledge or band 24 at the upper end of lthe casing and serving also as a st-rengthening means therefor, an opening 25 belng provided in the upper end Aof the casing 10 so that the latch 22 may be pressed inward to clear the stop or band when the reciprocating member 11 is to be withdrawn entirely from the casing, or farther therefromthan its normal uppermostposition.

The mechanism whereby the upper end of the absorbent member, or wick 13, is igmted and. a ame thus established, as the reclprocating member 11 moves upward, is as follows: An abrasive member 26 similar 1n form to a le is located within the eX- ternal casing 10 and suitably secured in place, the reciprocating member 11 and cappiece 19 being provided with longitudinally extending alined grooves 27, 28 to accommodate said abrasive member and permit longitudinal movement of the reciprocating member relatively thereto. The reciprocating member is provided with a barrel 29 having a passage 30 extending at right angles to the abrasive member 26, and within which is located a spark producing element 31, which when moved along and in contact with said abrasive member will produce a series of sparks directed toward the upper end of the wick 13, and ignite the same. The spark producing element 31 is forced toward and kept in contact with the abrasive member 26 by means of a spring 32 shown as secured to and carried bythe reciprocating member 11 by means of a screw 33, the lower-end of said spring operating in a slot 34 formed in the upper side of the barrel 29.

I prefer to provide my .improved igniting device with means for covering or inclosing the upper end of the wick 13 when the device is not in use, as evaporation of the volatile ignitible liquid employed is thereby prevented and thewick kept in such condition that it will more -surely be ignited by the sparks produced as aforesaid when the device is to be used. The drawing illustratesl one form of such a means, the same comprising a. hood 35 designedto fit over the upper end of the wick when the reciprocating member is depressed, said hood being carried at one end of a'lever 36 pivoted to the reciprocating member 11 at 37, and the other or'free end 38 of which lever moves ad] acent the inner surface of the casing 10`and en gages a stationary stop or lug 39 thereon as said reciprocating member approaches the end of its downward movement, whereupon the lever will be swung upon its pivot and the hood moved into position to cover the end of the wick. As the lever is swung upon its pivot, the free end 38 thereof enters a hole or recess 40 formed `in ythe caslng 1Q, and, when thereciprocating member 11 1s released by forcing the latch member 22 from the hole 23, the free end 38 of the lever 36 contacts with the wall of the hole or recess 40 and thehood 35 moved upward and away from the upper end of the wick, so that the sparks produced may reach and 'ignite thesame. 4The lever 36 is so designed 2, -that it may swing upon its iso with the beginning of the upward movement of said member. A longitudinally extending groovel 4l is provided in the reciprocating member 1l within which the projecting lug 39 lies, and whereby reciprocating movement of said member is permitted.

When it is ydesired to supply a new spark producing element 31 the spring-pressed latch member'22 is pressed inward so as to clear the stop or band which limits the normal upward movement of the reciprocating member l1, thus permitting said member to move farther and into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. This movement exposes theleft-hand end of the passage 30 in the barrel 29 and permits a new spark producing element to be placed therein.

From the foregoing it will be understood that my improved lighter is of a shape, andv can be made of a size peculiarly well adapted for` carrying the same in the vest pocket, as it is tubular in formand about the length of the lordinary pocket knife. Again, the inner tubular reciprocating member 'is of such 'size that it may containa wick or absorbent member of greater length than is usual in the ordinary form or type of lighter,

thus enabling it to receive and contain a` larger volume of the lighting Huid, and by reason of the length of the reciprocating member and the consequent distance it trav- -els in opening, will insure a much greater number of sparks, and the certainty of its lighting the wick, than has heretofore been possible; and, finally,I by reason of the fact that the abrasive material is stationary and straight in its length, the production of the Asparks by the contacting of the said spark producing alloy therewith is rendered far more certain than where one of the parts rotates upon an axis, las is usually the case.

While I have shown my invention as embodied in a mechanism of particular and definite form and construction, it will be understood that the same may be embodied in other forms, and that my invention includes such variations and modifications of the particular embodiment thereof illustrated and described as will be obvious to those 4skilled in the art to which my invent-ion relates.

What I claim is 1. An article of the character described com- I prising an external casing having an opening in its lower end, a reclprocatingmember containing a reservoir and located with` in said outer casing, said reservoir having 'a iilling opening at its lower end, means for holding said internal reciprocating member within said outer casing when in its open and closed adjust-ment, and means for producing a series of sparks during the outward movement of said inner casing.

2. An article of the character described comprising an external casing, a reciprocat-- extending ing member containing a reservoir and located within said external casing, said reciprocating member being shorter than said external casing so'lthat it may enter thereinto, means for holding said reciprocating member within said outer casing when the same is moved thereinto, and means for producing a series of sparks during the outward movement of said reciprocating member.

3. A device of the character described comprising an .outer tubular casing, a tubular reciprocating member contained within said outer casingand provided with a reservoir containing a protruding wick, means for locking the reciprocating member wit-hin said outercasing, an abrasive member carried by said outer casing, a spark producing element carried by said reciprocating member, whereby a series of sparks is produced to lignite said wick during the movement of said reciprocating member, and means for moving said reciprocating member outward upon disengagement of said locking means.

4. In a device of the class described, an external casing; an abrasive member within said casing; areciprocating member within said casing; a reservoir carried by said reciprocating member and having a wick eX- tending without the same; a spark producing element carried by said reciprocating member and adapted to contact with said abrasive member; means for moving said reciprocating member within said casing and means for locking said reciprocating memberv in a depressed position within said eX- ternal casing.n

5. In a device of the class described, an external casing; an abrasive 'member within said casing; a reciprocating member within said casing the upper end of which projects therefrom; a reservoir carried by said reciprocating., member and having a wick without the same; a spark producing element carried by said reciprocating member and adapted to contact with said abrasive member; and 'a spring within said casing and in with said reciprocating member.

6. In a device of the class described, an external casing; an abrasive member within said casing; a reciprocating member Within said casing the upper end of which projects therefrom; locking .mechanism adapted to hold said reciprocating member in a depressed position witliin said casing; a reservoir carried by said reciprocating member and having a wick extending wit-hout the same; a spark producing element carried by said reciprocating memberv and adapted A to contact Vwith said abrasive member; and

a spring within -said casing and acting to force sald reciprocating member outward.

7. In a device of the class described, an

external casing; an abrasive member wit-hinsaid casing; a reciprocating member within said casing the upper end of which projects therefrom; a -sprlng-pressed llatch carried by said reciprocating member and adapted to engage said casing to hold said reciprocating member in a depressed position therein; means whereby said latch may be disengaged from said casing; a reservoir carried by said reciprocating member and having a wick extending without the same; a spark producing'element carried by said reciprocating member and adapted to con- .tact with said abrasive member; and a spring within said casing.and in operative lngagement with said reciprocating memer.

8. In a device of the class described, an external casing having an opening in its lower end; an abrasive member within said v casing; a reciprocating member within said casing; a reservoir'carried by said reciproeating member and containing a wick, said reservoir having a filling opening at its lower end; a spark producing element carried by said reciprocating member and adapted to contact with said abrasivemember; and means for moving said reciprocating `member within said casing.

9. In a device of the class described, an

external casing; an abrasive member within said casing; areciprocating member withlreservolr carried by said reciprocating member and containing a wick; a spark producmg member and adapted to contact with said abrasive member; a spring within said casing and acting to force said reciprocating member upward; a vvlever pivotally vconnected with said reciprocating member one' end of which moves adjacent the innersurface of said casing; a lug u on the inner surface of said casingy and with which the end aforesaid Vof said lever engages as said reciprocating member approaches the end of its downward movement; and a hood carried by the other end of said lever and .adapted to cover the end of said wick.

Signed at New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 12 day of March A. D. 1912. v 4

' JOSEPH L. HERZOG.

Witnesses:

H. M. WHITE A. V. WALSH.

element carried by saidl reciprocatingv 

